What Does 1 John 3:21 Mean?
Beloved, if our heart does not know against us, we have open speech toward God.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.THE KEY
The heart’s verdict and confidence toward God are linked: when the heart is not knowing against you, you can speak openly before God.
THE MEANING
When your heart does not condemn you, you have confidence toward God, an openness that lets you come before God without holding back. The verse speaks of confidence, not a claim that you must be without fault to be near God.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that self-condemnation is the same as honesty before God.
THE ROOT
καταγινώσκῃ
kataginōskē
GROWS FROM
γινώσκω (with κατά)
γινώσκω means to know or perceive; κατά adds the sense of knowing against or finding fault.
“does not know against us” in this verse is kataginōskē. The Greek verb translated “condemn” carries the sense of knowing against someone. Here, the heart is not condemning you; the next clause names the resulting openness toward God.
ALSO GROWS
ginōskō: Know, perceive
γινώσκω
The compound’s core is knowing: the heart’s verdict is a kind of knowing directed against you.
epiginōskō: Recognize, perceive
ἐπιγινώσκω
This related form keeps the sense of knowing, helping show the shared root beneath different English renderings.
παρρησίαν
parrēsian
GROWS FROM
παρρησία
Frankness, openness of speech; confidence without reserve.
“open speech” in this verse is parrēsian. The word translated “confidence” can mean freedom to speak openly. The verse pictures a heart free of accusation meeting God with that same openness.
ALSO GROWS
parrēsiazomai: Speak boldly or openly
παρρησιάζομαι
This related verb makes clear that confidence here includes the freedom to speak.
parrēsia: Frankness, boldness, open speech
παρρησία
The noun appears elsewhere as “plainness of speech,” linking confidence with unguarded expression.
THE PATTERN
A heart no longer held in accusation can approach with openness and confidence.
Though a camp should pitch against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I lean my full weight.Holding then such hope, we speak with wide-open mouths.Let us draw near with a true heart in the fullness of trust, our hearts sprinkled from a burdened shared sight, and our bodies bathed in clean waters.THE THREAD
For if our heart knows against us, God is larger than our heart, and knows all things.The same Greek verb for “condemn” appears in both verses. The next verse names the case when the heart does accuse: its verdict is not the greatest knowledge in view, because God is greater than the heart and knows all things.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us